U.S. Conference on AIDS

via Windy City Times, by Kate Sosin

The U.S. Conference on AIDS, held this year in Chicago for the first time, opened with a welcoming plenary breakfast that featured major names in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Secretary Kathleen Sebelius of the Department of Health and Human Services headlined the morning.
 
But the moment that left many talking later in the day was a protest that interrupted the introduction of Sebelius. As Sebelius was announced with much fanfare, a large group of protesters with posters marched out and stole the microphone.
 
The group, protesting on behalf of Asian Pacific Islanders, demanded that their voices be heard in HIV prevention. They came bearing signs that read "Our Lives Matter."
 
"We cannot to wait," said Sharon Day of the Indigenous Peoples Task Force. "We, the first Americans, can no longer be the last in line for funding."
 
In what appeared to be a last-minute switch, National AIDS Policy Director Jeff Crowley took the stage in place of Sebelius. Crowley had been scheduled to speak later in the program.
 
Crowley challenged HIV service providers to adapt to healthcare changes and medical advancements to end AIDS. He called for focus and unity from AIDS organizations as pre-exposure prophylaxis (taking HIV meds to prevent becoming infected with HIV) is now a tool on the horizon.
 
"That is great news but right now it's a research study," said Crowley, who pressed providers to think realistically about how new science can be used to end HIV/AIDS. "I would ask all of you in this time of fundamental change to really seize the moment."
 
Protesters appeared a second time as Sebelius attempted to take the stage. She acknowledged the group before they sat down.
 
According to staffers for the National Minority AIDS Council, the organization that hosts the annual conference, organizers had anticipated the protest, although the last-minute swap of presenters appeared to be unscripted.
 
Sebelius spoke of the Obama administration's commitment to ending AIDS. She said the president had requested $50 million in additional funds for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program, which currently suffers from lack of funds, leaving thousands on a waiting list for HIV/AIDS treatment.
 
Despite the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, which will provide health insurance to Americans by 2014, Sebelius said that the administration remains committed to Ryan White funding (that money has funded HIV/AIDS treatment for patients without insurance who cannot afford to pay).
 
The secretary added that her department is working to reallocate funding to communities considered high-risk currently.
 
Sebelius echoed the sentiments of many at the conference, who argue that the current moment is critical for mobilizing to end AIDS. Experts say that given new advances in science, an end to the virus is on the horizon, but those advancements have also led to apathy as the those who contract HIV and get treatment can live healthier and longer lives than ever before.
 
Further, significant funding increases are needed if those treatments are to be implemented.
 
"We have some very important questions to ask ourselves today," Sebelius said. "What will we do with this opportunity … will we watch HIV/AIDS further recede from the national spotlight?"
 
In a special press conference after her appearance, Sebelius reaffirmed her commitment to Ryan White funding, stating that those funds will now fill "cracks in the system, not gaping holes." She also commented on the morning's protest.
 
"They were saying 'our lives matter,' and my response is, you bet they do," she said.
Thousands attended the breakfast, the first of four days of conference events.
 
David Ernesto Munar, president of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago, welcomed the conference on behalf of the host committee.
 
Munar encouraged conference attendees to adopt a Chicago attitude while in town.
 
"Chicagoans are a roll up your sleeves kind of people," Munar said. "I hope the hardy spirit of Chicago rubs off on you," because, he said, there is much work to be done to end AIDS.


See the rest

Don't Delay HIV Prevention for Gay and Bi Men

by David Ernesto Munar, via HuffPo

Lives will be saved when the Food and Drug Administration puts its stamp of approval on a groundbreaking preventative approach called pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, recently found to reduce HIV infections.

With PrEP, people who are not infected with HIV take a daily pill, usually used to treat the disease, to help prevent infection -- as part of a broad HIV
prevention approach that includes condoms and safer-sex counseling.

But the longer the FDA waits before beginning its review of the HIV medication Truvada for prevention, the more lives will be unnecessarily lost. This is particularly true for those at greatest risk: gay and bisexual men.

We urge the FDA to immediately begin its review for approval of Truvada for PrEP for gay and bisexual men.

Read the rest.

HIV/AIDS Organizations Tell FDA and Gilead Sciences: Don’t Delay HIV Prevention for Gay and Bisexual Men and Transgender Women

[Press Release - October 18, 2011]

Thirteen prominent U.S. HIV/AIDS organizations have issued an open letter to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Gilead Sciences calling for prompt regulatory review of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention in gay and bisexual men and transgender women (men who have sex with men, or MSM). The letter urges FDA and Gilead to start the review process that could allow safe and appropriate approved PrEP use as a public health intervention, and not to delay review because of distinct questions about the safety and efficacy of PrEP in heterosexual populations.

[The letter is available online here. LifeLube's mother - AIDS Foundation of Chicago - is a signatory.]

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a new HIV prevention method in which an uninfected person takes a daily HIV medication to reduce HIV infection risk. Data from an international study released in November, 2010 called iPrEx found that men and transgender women who have sex with men who received a daily single-tablet dose of the HIV drugs tenofovir and emtricitabine along with condoms and safe sex counseling had an average of 42% fewer HIV infections than those who received condoms and counseling alone.

Advocates assert that the need for new HIV prevention strategies for MSM is urgent. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) estimates that MSM account for more than half of all new HIV infections in the United States. CDC logged an estimated 34% increase in HIV infections in young gay men between 2006 and 2009, and a 48% HIV increase among young black/African American gay men over the same period.

“We desperately need new strategies and tools to reduce the rapidly increasing rates of HIV infection in black gay and bisexual men,” said Phill Wilson, executive director of the Black AIDS Institute. “We’ve had evidence of PrEP’s effectiveness in MSM for almost a year now. It’s time to use every tool at our disposal to reduce the 50,000 new HIV infections that occur each year in this country. Prompt FDA review will help ensure that appropriate guidelines for PrEP use are established that can reduce HIV infections and safeguard public health.”

Data on PrEP in heterosexuals raise important but unique questions that may require further study. Two major trials in Africa found that PrEP reduces HIV infection risk in heterosexual men and women substantially. But two other studies present conflicting information about how PrEP works in heterosexuals. Critical and necessary efforts to understand how PrEP interacts with hormonal contraception, or how PrEP may impact pregnancy, however, should not delay access to a potentially lifesaving form of HIV prevention for MSM.

Before the results of the heterosexual PrEP studies were announced, the FDA and Gilead Sciences, the maker of the drugs, were reported to be ready to move quickly to consider approval of PrEP for those MSM who could benefit from the approach. Recent signs indicate, however, that FDA review of PrEP for this population may not start until the agency acquires more data on PrEP among heterosexuals—despite the urgent need for new HIV prevention strategies for MSM, and the fact that PrEP data in MSM were announced nearly one year ago.

“The FDA and Gilead Sciences should move quickly to ensure a thorough review of PrEP for MSM now, while they both work simultaneously and swiftly to thoroughly address questions and concerns about PrEP among heterosexual populations,” said Mitchell Warren, executive director of AVAC “Prompt FDA review of PrEP in MSM is the right thing to do for public health. In the midst of a growing HIV epidemic, HIV prevention delayed is HIV prevention denied.”

"Magic" Pills and Potions - Hocus Pocus or Plus Plus?

LifeLube's Jim Pickett was part of a forum on PrEP in Seattle a few months ago called "The Magic Pill?" hosted by our fabulous friends Gay City Health Project. The following videos cover his talk - slides PLUS live action. Enjoy :)

[If an item is not written by an IRMA member, it should not be construed that IRMA has taken a position on the article's content, whether in support or in opposition.]

VIDEO: THIRD (?!) Stabbing in Three Weeks in Chicago's Boystown

This happened last night..... What the F is going on?

HIV positive man claims he was denied medication while jailed

via Chicago Sun-Times

A South Shore man claims he was denied HIV medication for a week while he was imprisoned in a downstate jail last year, a case that advocacy groups cited as an example of a hidden problem in correctional facilities.

Arick Buckles, 39, was detained in the Bureau County Jail in Princeton last fall after learning he was the subject of an outstanding arrest warrant for forgery charges.

Buckles said he “stressed to every jailer I came into contact with” that he was HIV-positive and needed to take antiretroviral medication daily. But he did not receive medication or see a doctor during his weeklong stay at the jail, the American Civil Liberties Union wrote in a June 20 letter to Bureau County Sheriff John Thompson.

Buckles, who said he experienced severe diarrhea after his release, described his time behind bars as terrifying, because “I didn’t know what the offset of my not having those medications would be.”

“I often wonder, if I had been a diabetic, would I have been denied medication,” he said.

Jail officials allegedly told Buckles they could not give him his medication because of the cost of the drugs, a justification the ACLU letter called “inappropriate and unconstitutional.”

Read more.

Hey Chicago! JOIN Today. TRAIN Tomorrow. TRIUMPH FOREVER!

Get fit, make friends and change lives with the TEAM TO END AIDS (T2) endurance training program.

In a few months, they can train YOU to complete a marathon, half marathon, triathlon or 100-mile bike event, whether you’re an experienced athlete or a newbie. T2 will prepare you to go the distance and raise money in support of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago.

Simply choose your challenge and our USAT and USATF certified coaches and staff will guide you through everything, from training to nutrition to fundraising.

Click for more info now.

Feast of Fun: David Munar and 30 Years of the Big A

via Feast of Fun

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the first AIDS diagnosis in the U.S.

It’s difficult to measure the devastating impact AIDS has had on humanity, not just the horrors of the disease itself but the inadequate response of governments and health care institutions to this incredible loss of life.

Gay activism in 1988. This poster could have been made yesterday, and yet, we've come a long way baby.
And yet through it all, people have risen to the challenges brought on by AIDS and created organizations to fight the disease and bring about change.

Today, we take a look at three decades of AIDS with David Ernesto Munar, the newly appointed President and CEO of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago. David got involved in the fight against AIDS at a very young age, and has seen our struggles and triumphs through the years as he’s risen through the ranks.

Most recently, young people have taken to digital media by storm as a way to inspire each other and find all kinds of information on how to create gay straight alliances or at schools.

The benefits of this are profound as studies show that LGBT people who’ve undergone severe trauma as a result of bullying are more likely to become HIV positive.


Listen to the podcast.

It Gets Better Because We Grow Stronger: An interview with leading gay men’s health expert Dr. Ron Stall

by Jim Pickett Director of Prevention Advocacy and Gay Men’s Health LifeLube.org/AIDS Foundation of Chicago

In 1981, severe illness in a group of young gay men caught the attention of federal public health officials who could not explain the cluster of rare, deadly cases of pneumonia. This ominous medical mystery is widely regarded as the start of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, which continues to rage on every inhabitable corner of earth.

Over the past 30 years, HIV/AIDS in the U.S. has spread to many other populations, particularly low-income women of color and injection drug users. While no longer a singularly “gay disease,” gay, bisexual and transgender people remain severely impacted by HIV/AIDS in the U.S. For young gay, bi, and transgender youth of color, alarming rates of HIV rival those of some Sub-Saharan countries. What can we learn from the 30-year history of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in order to forge a better, future response?

These are just some of the questions the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) is posing this year as it reflects on lessons learned from the past 30 years of HIV/AIDS. Chief among these questions is why, 30 years into the crisis, are rates of HIV highest among young gay men, particularly men of color? According to federal officials, rates of HIV among gay men are 50-times higher than any other group and, while new cases have plateaued for other groups, among gay/bi men and transgender, they continue to climb.

To help inform AFC’s 2012 strategic plan, I interviewed Dr. Ron Stall, Professor and Chair of the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences in the Graduate School of Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh, a leading HIV prevention expert. He began researching AIDS-related topics in 1984 on the AIDS Behavioral Research Project, one of the first longitudinal studies of AIDS risk-taking behaviors in the world.

Since that time he has published more than 140 peer-reviewed scientific papers on many different aspects of the AIDS epidemic, including research on determinants of risk-taking behaviors and HIV transmission, co-occurring epidemics, life-course issues important to AIDS-related risk-taking, and a portfolio of research on global AIDS issues. He is currently Co-Director of a Certificate Program in LGBT Health and is collaborating on several National Institutes of Health research projects focused on gay men’s health.

Ron and I recently had the opportunity to check in and talk about the needs of gay men and youth. Only by understanding and responding to the epidemic among gay youth and adults can efforts to end the epidemic in the U.S. have any chance of success. 

JIM: Your work concentrates on co-occurring health concerns that conspire to fuel the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Can you briefly describe this concept of “syndemics” and explain why it is so important to consider in terms of gay men's health and efforts to meet their HIV prevention needs?

RON: The term “syndemics” describes interacting and intertwining epidemics, or synergistic epidemics. Syndemics are found in many different human populations, but are very commonly found in populations that are at high risk for HIV. Syndemics research studies why HIV is so closely intertwined with epidemics of substance abuse, depression, violence and other psychosocial health problems. More important, syndemics research also studies how we can interrupt syndemic production by starting a larger health movement that works to lower risk for HIV by addressing multiple psychosocial health problems in a community. I’m part of a research group that has conducted a set of investigations into syndemic production among gay men, and we were able to show that epidemics of substance use, depression, childhood sexual abuse and violence victimization are intertwining and making each other worse and in the process raising risk for HIV transmission. Our study was the first to show that this phenomena exists among gay men, but this analysis has now been replicated in several different studies, including one among MSM in Thailand. One implication of our analysis is that there is a lot more to gay men’s health than a simple focus on HIV and that addressing these multiple health risks may work to lower HIV risk among gay male communities. 

There has been a lot of talk about bullying these days, thanks to the brilliant “It Gets Better” campaign. Do you see bullying as something that feeds into syndemic production? What kind of research do we have around bullying and health outcomes for gay men, or more broadly, for LGBT people? 

Once you buy the idea that syndemics exist among gay men, the next question would be why is that so? We think that a very important piece to this puzzle is that gay men not only suffer far greater rates of violence victimization as adolescents, but that nearly all young gay men watch schoolmates being publicly victimized for having the same sexual orientation that they do. This sets gay men up early on to have a sense of being different, of being less than, of not being deserving, of being alone – in short, for internalized homophobia at a very early age. And these experiences predispose young gay men to be more depressed, to have greater substance abuse profiles at a very early age, to have higher rates of having sex under the influence of alcohol or drugs and to suffer greater rates of violence victimization, each of which raise HIV risk profiles among young MSM. Dr. Mark Friedman in our group published an analysis to show the associations between the experience of violence victimization and bullying during adolescence and poorer health profiles – including HIV seropositivity – among adult gay men. We are conducting additional analyses from a separate cohort study to measure how the experiences of violence victimization at a young age predict syndemic production among middle-aged gay men.  

"It Gets Better" speaks to the transience of being harassed and bullied – that we won’t be in that situation all of our lives, so we basically just need to hang on. You just explained how bullying can have negative health outcomes for people, so while the bullying may end, the consequences can continue. But there is another side to this story – yes, it gets better, but you also get stronger. And coming out the other side of bullying can make people stronger, and more able to address challenges in their lives. This speaks to strength and resilience, which I know you have been thinking about. Tell us what we know about resilience and strength in terms of gay men's health and HIV prevention. 

While it is true that there are important health disparities that cluster and make each other worse among gay men, once you start looking for resilience to fight health problems among gay men, you start seeing it everywhere. For example, gay men may use more drugs than straight men, but for all of that drug use, we don’t have comparable increased rates of behaviors that look like addition. This suggests that there is an important, but unstudied, self-regulation process at work that men use to monitor their drug use and avoid addiction. And when gay men do get addicted to dangerous drugs such as tobacco and stimulants, we have very high rates of being able to resolve these addictions on our own.  

And, of course, there are many, many men who’ve enjoyed full sex lives for decades on end and have not become HIV seropositive, not to mention the large numbers of seropositive men who’ve led full, healthy and productive lives even while battling a serious viral infection. We also exhibit important strengths in the way that we’ve always managed to build families, communities and political movements in very unfriendly contexts. Once you start looking at the data this way, you could be excused for concluding that resilience and strength in the face of adversity may be the two most important characteristics that distinguish gay and heterosexual men. 

Why do you think we have focused so singularly on weaknesses and deficits? Why haven't we flipped this script and focused efforts on building the resilience of gay men, particularly toward improve their health? Why haven't we taken the collective wisdom of men - young and old - who have successfully avoided HIV infection to inform better HIV prevention responses? 

I think that our focus on deficits among gay men has to do with the long term effects of the shock of the discovery of the AIDS epidemic among gay men. We had this terrible new epidemic that seemed to miss most other populations. The questions of why we were so vulnerable to AIDS, and the study of our unique risk factors for this disease naturally followed. And, to be fair, this research frame has resulted in some important insights around HIV prevention and care.

That said, over time, it has also become clear that there are lots of men – indeed the majority of gay men – who’ve exhibited significant resiliencies when it has come to dealing with the HIV epidemic. The time has come to understand more about these resiliencies so that we can learn how better to respond to the many health problems affecting our community. Put another way, if we are interested in finding effective ways to treat substance abuse among gay men, are we better off studying men who became addicted or men who became addicted and quit on their own? Or men who use and don’t become addicted? Each group is important, but it may be that the men who resolved substance abuse on their own are the experts from whom we can learn the most valuable lessons. 

What are you currently doing to change the deficit dynamic, what can we look forward to? 

I’m working with a group of very smart colleagues to propose a theory of resilience among gay men, and to propose a research agenda to study strengths among gay men. There is an old saying that the most practical thing that one can do is to come up with a good theory. The time for a good theory to explain resiliencies among gay men – and make use of these strengths to promote health in our communities – is long overdue.

Next Monday AIDS Foundation of Chicago invites columnist and “It Gets Better” creator Dan Savage to its spring luncheon to discuss the role bullying plays in HIV infections – and what we can do about it. Please consider joining us.

Trans Actions Transgender Conference May 19th - CHICAGO

You are invited to the Service Providers Council’s Transgender Conference to be held Thursday, May 19, 2011, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the University Center, 525 S. State Street in Chicago. The conference is entitled “Trans Actions”; its theme is “Increasing Access to Care.” The 2011 conference is organized by the AIDS Foundation of Chicago Service Providers’ Council (SPC) Prevention & Care Committees and the ad-hoc host committee.

It will bring together local, state and national leaders to discuss “best practice,” cultural competency, employment issues, research-based programs and HIV/STI prevention for and with transgendered populations.

Featured Speakers are:

* Joanne Herman author of “Transgender Explained For Those Who Are Not”
* Jamison Green, PhD, an international leader in transgender, health, policy, law and education from the University of California, San Francisco
* Amanda Simpson a political and transgender trailblazer

Who should attend? The conference will appeal to anyone interested in providing services to and increasing workplace opportunities for the transgendered population. It will be of particular value to professional educators; service providers in the areas of mental health, substance abuse prevention, intervention, treatment, prevention education, treatment and adherence education (i.e., health care providers, prevention and community health workers, nurses, health educators, program directors, social workers, case managers) as well as resource managers, labor and diversity specialists.

 Register today!

Save The Lives Of LGBT Youth

by David Ernesto Munar

ItGetsBetter.org—the revolutionary online video project designed to draw attention to bullying and abuse of LGBT youth—jumped from the internet to bookshelves across the country this month with the publication of an anthology of essays edited by Dan Savage and his partner Terry Miller. Like its online counterpart, the hardback It Gets Better is drawing much needed national focus to the plight of LGBT youth who all too often face horrendous verbal and physical abuse from their peers and adults, including parents, teachers, and family members.

A tragic consequence of anti-gay bullying is the endemic rates of suicide and attempted suicide among LGBT youth. However, the accumulated harms on young people do not end there. Increasingly, behavioral scientists are documenting an array of adverse health impacts directly related to growing up in an anti-gay environment. For example, surveys show that gay/bisexual men harassed or physically attacked as youth (including at home) have higher rates of unprotected sex, HIV acquisition, depression, substance use, and partner violence than their peers who did not grow up in such hostile environments.

For AIDS activists, these findings underscore the urgency to combat homophobia and other forms of discrimination if we are going to make a dent in the epidemic. Acceptance of HIV prevention education, testing, and treatment is too often hampered by the fears of being labeled gay and the torturous existence that can follow. Without adequate support, nurturing environments, and comprehensive sexual education, gay teens and young adults are getting infected with HIV at disturbing, unconscionable rates as they face the compounding obstacles of homophobia and HIV stigma.

The AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) has been at the forefront of addressing these challenges by supporting HIV-related anti-stigma campaigns, engaging young people online through withmecomesacure.org, Peter Pointers on Facebook, and ringonit.org, and promoting healthy, resilient images of gay men through a project akin to It Gets Better called “How are you healthy?” Our health promotion portal LifeLube.org engages transgender, gay, and bi men in health topics and community mobilization activities.

Read more at aidsconnect.org

Couldn't Make Last Night's Mayoral Candidate Forum on LGBT Issues? Watch it Now!

Thanks to Radio Arte, last night's forum was live webstreamed and recorded. Watch it and get informed on Chicago's mayoral candidates.

Video streaming by Ustream

Deadline to Ride Lobby Days Bus Extended to January 24!

Save Our State, Lobby Days 2011 is upon us and we’re gearing up fast! The AIDS Foundation of Chicago is hoping to send as many AIDS advocates as possible to the 2011 HIV/AIDS Lobby Days in Springfield on March 2, 2011, but times are tough and we’re anticipating a decrease in the number of scholarships we are able to offer this year. We are working to get a fleet of buses for this event so that we can transport as many Chicago-area advocates down as possible, and are offering the opportunity for organizations and individuals to reserve and pay for spots at a very affordable rate (around $35 per seat roundtrip).

If you or your organization are interested in participating, please contact Pete at psubkoviak@aidschicago.org. The bus will depart from downtown Chicago at 6 a.m. and return around 6 or 7 p.m on March 2nd, 2011.

We will need the final number of seats you or your organization want to reserve by January 24th, 2011. You will be responsible for the cost of all seats you reserve. Seat availability on a first come, first serve basis.

LifeLuber Jim Pickett Downunder

Jim Pickett speaks to the huddled masses

On October 21, AFC Advocacy Director and LifeLuber Jim Pickett gave a plenary presentation at the Australasian HIV/AIDS Conference 2010 in Sydney, Australia. His talk, “Yes, There is a Gay Agenda: The need to re-conceptualize HIV prevention in the epidemic’s third decade” was part of the session titled “Re-Thinking Prevention.” Pickett discussed HIV prevention in the United States context and provided insights into the U.S. Gay Men’s Health Agenda, Chicago’s “How are you healthy?” campaign, the U.S. National HIV/AIDS Strategy, sexual health, and biomedical prevention. Click here to view his slide set!

Click here to view slide set in power point!

Click here to view slide set in PDF.

Chicago AIDS Run and Walk 2010 - PHOTOS

Lot's of great photos of all the folks who showed up in less-than-lovely weather this past Saturday in Chicago.

Click here to see the whole set.

AFC Recommends More Frequent HIV Testing for Gay Men

On this, National Gay Men’s HIV/AIDS Awareness Day, AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC) calls for more frequent HIV testing among gay men and a re-doubling of efforts to combat the epidemic among this most-impacted population.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported on September 23 that approximately one in five gay men in 21 American cities are HIV-positive, and 44% were unaware of their status. Chicago released its data from this study in July 2009 and found that a little more than 17% of gay men surveyed were found to be HIV-positive.

CDC researchers tested a total 8,153 gay/bi men and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who participated in the 2008 National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System. They found the highest infection rate, 28 percent, was among black gay/bi and other MSM. Eighteen percent of Hispanic gay/bi and other MSM were infected, as were 16 percent of white men.

In Chicago, where a total of 570 men were tested, HIV prevalence among black gay men was 30.1 percent - more than twice the rate of white gay men (11.3 percent) and Hispanic gay men (12 percent). At the time of the survey, 50 percent were unaware of their positive status.

“These staggering numbers illustrate the severe impact HIV is having on gay men of all colors in our community. The impact on gay black men is especially troubling, and completely unacceptable,” said Mark Ishaug, AFC President/CEO. “We must re-double our efforts to address these appalling disparities.”

Since the CDC release, much of the coverage has neglected to provide important context. In Chicago, 88 percent of the gay/bi men and other MSM who were unaware of their HIV infection had been tested at least once for HIV in their lifetime and 61 percent of those men had reported taking at least two HIV tests in the past two years.

“The good news is that a majority of gay men are getting tested annually, a clear illustration of their concern. However, these data reveals that annual testing is not sufficient. AFC recommends that sexually active gay men with multiple or anonymous partners get tested every three to six months, and should get tested for syphilis at that frequency as well,” said Jim Pickett, AFC Director of Advocacy.

Per the President's National HIV/AIDS Strategy, the resources deployed to combat HIV in this country must match the epidemic. Since the burden of HIV/AIDS falls on gay/bi men and other MSM, more must be done to meet the needs of this under-served population.

“While the dollars need to follow the epidemic, we also need to improve our prevention efforts and broaden our strategy beyond a focus on individual level change,” said David Ernesto Munar, AFC Vice President. “In the fight against HIV in Chicago and across the country, we need to focus on gay men and fighting homophobia. We need to increase testing frequency, we need to ensure access to appropriate care and treatment, and we need to go beyond individual level strategies and address bigger, systemic challenges that contribute to the disparities we are seeing.”

AFC recently launched an initiative—known as Project IN-CARE (Identify, Navigate, Connect, Access, Retain and Evaluate) — that addresses these disparities by linking people to care and meeting the unique needs of individuals living with HIV, focusing on gay men of color. A collaborative effort , partner agencies include AFC, Brothers Health Collective, Howard Brown Health Center, Ruth M. Rothstein CORE Center and Test Positive Aware Network and is funded by a 1.8 million dollar National AIDS Foundation Positive Charge grant for three-years.

As of July 2010, the Chicago Department of Public Health reported 20,871 people were living with HIV/AIDS in Chicago, 79 percent male and 21 percent female. Blacks made up 53 percent of these cases, followed by 27 percent among whites and 17 percent among Hispanics. Gay/bi men and other MSM made up the majority of cases – 56 percent, followed by injection drug users (19 percent) and heterosexuals (17 percent.) Because it is estimated that 21 percent of individuals who are HIV-positive are not aware of their status, Chicago could have as many as 26,419 people living with HIV/AIDS.

Sex and the City - men, sex, love, and HIV [Chicago conference]

The FREE conference is a one day event that will explore how HIV/AIDS is impacting African American gay and bisexual men, as well as other men who have sex with men (MSM) in Chicago. Fueled in part by persistent silence and stigma, the health disparities impacting these men have created unacceptably high rates of HIV that rival those in sub-Saharan Africa.

What is already happening to address these disparities, and what's missing?  

Join us and be part of the answer.

Keynote speakers include Dr. David Malebranch of Emory University and Dr. Gary Harper of DePaul University

Thursday, September 16
9 a.m.-3 p.m.
University Center
525 S. State Street, Chicago 
Register online here. FREE.

Around June 18? Come to Stonewalled: A Benefit for the AIDS Foundation of Chicago

Stonewall changed us all, whether we were alive or not. In the 1960's, mad men and mods, hustlers and hypocrites alike all congregated at the Stonewall Inn - one of the only venues in New York City where you could be openly gay. It was here that LGBT Americans came out of the darkness and fought the hatred entrenched in society at that time.

Come celebrate Stonewall and help raise funds for AFC June 18th at the Beauty Bar - be there or be oh so square.

Featuring long-time LGBT activist Vernita Grey Retro Sets by LifeLube's own Pistol Pete & FKA’s DJ Reaganomix MC'd by the Fierce Lois Bates Followed by JD Samson of Le Tigre & MEN!!!

Stonewalled
June 18
6-10pm
Beauty Bar
1444 W Chicago Ave.
Chicago, IL

Check out the event page on Facebook

Advisory Panel Recommends Immediate ADAP Wait List in Illinois

Facing an historic budget crisis that could destabilize HIV treatment access for more than 4,000 low-income Illinoisans with HIV/AIDS, a state advisory panel voted on May 21 to urge Illinois to immediately close the AIDS Drug Assistance Program (ADAP) to new applicants and begin a waiting list. The recommendation is now under review by state officials.

“Because the program is deeply underfunded, Illinois must take immediate steps to preserve services for those who rely on ADAP for their life-saving care,” said David Ernesto Munar, vice president of the AIDS Foundation of Chicago (AFC), and a member of the ADAP Medical Issues Advisory Board, which made the recommendation. “The program faces total fiscal collapse unless immediate actions are taken.”

Take Action Now!

Read the rest at AIDS Connect.

Work and your Life Force

There are many benefits of working in a place like the AIDS Foundation of Chicago that can't be quantified in dollars and cents. Take, for instance, our President Mark Ishaug's invitation to staff to participate in a three-hour Qigong session during work hours (gasp). I thought my takeaway from this experience would be related to ancient eastern metaphysics, but it wasn't at all.

Not that the session wasn't great, because it was. 
 

In its simplest form, the Chinese character for qi, in qigong, can mean air, breath, or "life force." Gong means work, so qigong is therefore the practice of "working" with one's "life force." The internal Chinese practice that often uses slow graceful movements, massage, stretches and controlled breathing techniques to promote the circulation of qi within the human body, and enhance a practitioner's overall health. The tradition has been passed down through lineages as an oral tradition since the 9th century. If it's that old, then something has to be working.

But while I enjoyed the qigong experience, I took away something much larger than that. When I look back on the experience, I realized I was sitting in a room with 30 co-workers, all of whom I like personally, doing self-improvement exercises at the behest of my boss - now where the hell else does that happen?

As I've gotten older, I've come to realize how important it is not only to love what you do, but where you do it and who you do it with. I, like most others, have had the unfortunate experience of working in an environment that focuses on dollars, productivity and winning, all at the expense of the individual. Employees are be treated like the dispensable minions that they are, no matter how high on the totem pole they sit. Working for a company that does not personally care for the mental and emotional health of its employees can be a toxic environment, pushing individuals to the max while they reap few rewards. It all makes perfect sense: if you're going to be spending eight-plus hours a day in an office, you better like it.

When I was still coming into my own I took a job in public relations, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready to make my mark in the world. The next several months of my life were the lowest of my professional life, worse than killing roaches for a slumlord, cleaning up vomit in a gay club, or mindless robotic relay at a call center, all of which I had experienced in my youth. After countless pejorative remarks that drained me of all confidence in and commitment to my work (and a half-hearted death threat from my spawn-of-the-Devil, Cruella DeVille-esque boss), I quit and started re-prioritizing what I looked for in a job.

 

Admittedly, all my evidence is empirical, but I think it's common sense that no one wants to work for a company that takes and never gives. Employees do more work- better work - when they like what they are doing, and who they are doing it for. As for me, I also have more drive, confidence and satisfaction in my personal and professional life more than I ever have before. AFC is onto something - the question is, when will the rest of the professional world pick up on it?